Read Online The Sign of Fear by R.L. Stine - Free Book Online

Mistress Peterson muttered. “Ifyou’re not out in the yard in ten seconds, there will be nothing for you to eat this day.”
    Christina scrambled to her feet. Her head swam. But she forced her feet to carry her up the cellar stairs after Mistress Peterson.
    She stuffed the silver pendant back inside her dress. She didn’t want Mistress Peterson to see it—and take it away from her.
    â€œVery good,” Mistress Peterson said when Christina made her way out into the yard.
    It’s barely dawn, Christina realized. She felt exhausted. Her sore ankle throbbed and every muscle ached.
    â€œYou can begin your chores right away,” Mistress Peterson said. “When you’ve done the first one to my satisfaction, you can have some food. Start by cleaning up the mess you made in your room yesterday. Hurry, now! I will not tolerate laziness. Go get a bucket of water from the well.”
    Footsteps dragging, Christina fetched a bucket and filled it with water. She slowly carried it to her room, careful not to spill one tiny drop. If she did, she feared Mistress Peterson would lock her into the cellar again.
    Christina got down on her hands and knees, and began to scrub the floor. It took forever to get the bloodstains off.
    She tried not to remember how the stains came to be there. Tried not to remember the sound of Emily Peterson’s laughter or the way she smiled at Matthew Fier.
    When she finished, her tiny room shone. That should satisfy even Mistress Peterson, Christina thought. Her stomach rumbled with hunger. She hefted the bucket of bloody water and started back downstairs.
    She heard a rustling from Emily’s room. Christina hurried past the door, not wanting to see the blond girl.
    And she heard someone moan.
    Christina dropped the bucket. Water splashed out onto the hallway floor. The moan came again, louder this time.
    Is Emily sick? Heart pounding, Christina crept closer to Emily’s door. She didn’t want anything to do with Emily. But she couldn’t ignore her. What if she hurt herself somehow?
    Christina put her hand on the door. I can’t just pretend I didn’t hear anything. I’ve got to find out what’s going on!
    â€œDon’t go in there!” a voice behind her shrieked.
    Christina spun around. Emily glared at her from the top of the stairs.
    Christina heard the moan again.
    If Emily is out here—who is that moaning in her room?

Chapter
18

    E mily rushed down the hall toward Christina. “Get away from there!” she screeched. “That’s my room. You can never go inside. Ever.”
    What does she have in there? Christina wondered. Is a person locked in there? Who was moaning?
    Emily shoved Christina out of the way. She pulled the door open a crack and quickly slipped through it. Christina couldn’t see a thing before Emily slammed the door behind her.
    The moaning stopped. Christina stood frozen in the hallway. She didn’t know what to do.
    What’s really in there? she wondered. What is Emily Peterson doing? Heart pounding in fear, Christina remembered all the horrible rumors she’d heard in the village.
    Rumors that the Petersons practiced the dark arts. That they captured people and tortured them. IsEmily torturing someone now? Is that what she was doing in her room?
    Christina remembered a conversation she once heard while doing the shopping for Aunt Jane.
    â€œI hear they eat people alive,” Mistress Tucker said.
    â€œI hear they boil them and then eat them,” Mistress Brown answered.
    â€œAnd I hear,” Mistress Dennison spoke up, her voice no more than a whisper, “that they drain their victims’ blood and drink it while it’s still warm.”
    I can’t just walk away, Christina thought. Not if Emily’s holding somebody prisoner in there. I have to find out what is going on.
    She reached for Emily’s doorlatch.
    â€œStay away,” a voice behind the door